Missing Sans
by NotAWerewolf
Summary: Sans has been missing for four years, and when his friends finally find him, he's made his home in the forest, caring for his adoptive human daughter Frisk. Papyrus has lost his happiness. Undyne still wants the human soul. Alphys can't understand. Will this broken family be able to recover?
1. Lost and Found

Lost and Found

It had been some time since Sans' sudden disappearance. For almost four years, he could not be found by anyone. Not even his brother. Papyrus had enlisted every willing monster to aid in the search, across the entire underground. As days turned to weeks and weeks to months, more and more monster simply gave Papyrus their condolence and stopped looking. Even Undyne and Alphys, who had helped organize the search for their friend, stopped searching and started consoling. Papyrus would take years to break, but years it took.

Now, so long after losing the only family he had left, Papyrus had lost his cheery demeanor, his positive outlook. He had lost his hope. No longer bothering to build puzzles, no more dreams of joining the guard. He had even lost the will to wear his battle body outfit, choosing instead an old orange hoodie he had kept in the back of his closet.

Undyne and Alphys had decided to visit Papyrus at his home. His and his brother's. They spent increasing amounts of time in Snowdin, trying to cheer a cheerless Papyrus.

"I thought w-we could watch some, h-human history together" Alphys had said when she and Undyne had arrived earlier that day. Pap had agreed, but the girls could tell his heart wasn't in it. They had spent an hour on the couch, watching a show about cooking, when there was a sudden noise.

KER-THUMP!

"What the hell?" said Undyne, looking around the room for the source of the noise.

"Probably came from the show.", a half-hearted Papyrus guessed.

"No, it sounded like it came from below the floor." Undyne replied, looking at the floorboards.

"Maybe something in the basement fell?", Pap said.

"You, you have a basement?" Alphys asked. Pap hadn't ever told the two about it.

"Yeah," Papyrus admitted, "though the only one who used it was…" He was unwilling to finish the sentence, though the others understood.

Undyne jumped to her feet, startling Alphys. "Well, shouldn't we see what happened?"

Papyrus didn't say anything, looking at nowhere in particular, before getting to his feet and leading the others outside.

When the three had turned the corner to see the basement door, they were startled by a figure. Undyne, the first to recover from the shock of seeing someone she didn't expect, spoke: "Hey, who are you!?"

The figure jumped at the noise, clearly not expecting company, briefly turned to face Undyne, before bolting out. As the cloaked figure began his run, so did Undyne. "Get back here!" she yelled, alerting Alphys and Papyrus to the escaping figure. Alphys cried out for Undyne, before attempting to give chase. She wasn't a runner, so Papyrus huffed, before picking the doctor up and giving chase to Undyne.

Undyne followed the figure far out of Snowdin town, into the outskirts near the entrance of the ruins. Undyne was fast, but the figure was unnaturally fast. It seemed as though every time Undyne almost caught the figure, it would turn a corner and be far out of reach. But Undyne wouldn't give up. Even as it led her deep into the forest, she kept up the chase. Until, after seemly forever, Undyne made it around a downed tree, ready to grab the figure.

But it wasn't there. It wasn't anywhere. Undyne swore, and looked in all directions. She was deep in the forest, and didn't expect to find him if it had truly escaped her. She also didn't expect a house in the woods. Yet that was what she saw.

As Undyne made her way, slower now, towards the strange house in the clearing, Papyrus and Alphys managed to catch up. "Did you catch them Undyne?" Alphys asked. But as Papyrus set her down, she too saw the house in the woods. Undyne, so curious she hadn't even noticed the arrival of the others, continued making her way towards it. As she stepped in the clearing, looking around, she examined the house. It was two stories, with a simple slanted roof. The outside was the colour of birch, a light brown. And in front of the front door was a figure.

Undyne ran for it, and managed to grab a hold before it could escape. She hadn't paid much attention to what the figure looked like, but it was short, cover head to almost feet in a dark blue hooded cloak. "Just who do you think you are!" Undyne shouted as she turned the figure to face her. But as she did, it took mere moments to realize who it was.

"Sans?"

Alphys and Papyrus, left in the dust by Undyne sprint for the figure, caught up. "What about…." Alphys started, but was silenced when she saw the figure's face.

Pap almost didn't believe what he was seeing. He tried to wake up from this dream, but there was none to wake from. He stared at Sans incredulously, tears beginning to well. "Brother?"

Sans wriggled himself free of Undyne's grip, though she had lost it as soon as she had seen him. "You have to leave. Now" He said sternly. But before anyone could speak, a small 5th voice piped in.

"Daddy?" came the voice of small child.

Sans turned towards the front door of the house, concern in his eyes. The others looked, not sure what they expected.

Standing in the doorway of the front of the house, was a small girl. She wore a striped sweater, too large for her arms. Her face was bright, and her eyes shone blue. In her left hand, she held a ragged stuffed animal. With her right, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was no older than 4.

And she was human.


	2. Old friends, New introductions

Old friends, new introductions

Without a second thought, Sans walked to the child, and bent down to comfort her. "Hey princess, let's head inside." He told her, with the calm & comforting voice of a father. "Who are they daddy?" the child said, pointing to the three monsters standing awestruck at the interaction.

"Just some old friends of mine, princess" he replied. The girl perked up at the words. "Friends? Are they here to play?". The child bounced in anticipation at meeting new people.

At this, Undyne shook herself out of shock. Her face turned to anger. "What the he…. heck is going on here?!" she yelled out. Sans took a moment to think, sighed, then spoke. "Why don't we all go inside to talk?" he said. As he took the child's hand and walked inside, the others took a moment to think. Then Undyne went in, followed by a nervous Alphys, and her by the tall skeleton, who still could not believe that his brother was even alive.

The house was fairly tidy inside, spare a few stray toys around the floor. There was a small beat up couch for a living room, a table with two chairs for a dining room, and a small kitchen, all in the same open room. The floors were wooden, with a carpet by the couch, and the whole place was kept warm by the cracking fireplace in the corner. Up the stairs was a balcony, not unlike the one in Papyrus' house, with two doors, presumably the bedrooms. It was cozy.

As Undyne, Papyrus and Alphys looked and admired the place, the human girl ran up to them. "Hi!" she said excitedly. "My name is Frisk Serif, and this is my daddy Sans" she boasted, turning to show them the skeleton they all knew. Or thought they knew.

Papyrus was the first to speak. "Hello?" he said, unsure of himself. "My name is Papyrus. Er, Papyrus Serif." Once, the skeleton would have been "the Great Papyrus", and been beyond exuberant at the advent of meeting a human. But that Papyrus was gone, perhaps to never come back.

"Serif! Does that mean you're my brother!" exclaimed an ever-excited Frisk. "No" replied Sans, a slight smile on his face. "He's my brother. That would make him your uncle". Papyrus wasn't sure how to respond, but Frisk was proud none-the-less.

Alphys spoke next. "Uh, hi. I'm dd-doctor Alphys." Alphys had never been confident when speaking, though this seemed to be even harder for her than usual. Frisk nearly squealed. "You're a doctor?! Does that mean you do science like my daddy?" Alphys had remembered Sans used to be a scientist, though she had never known quite was he worked on. "Y-yeah!" she managed.

Undyne didn't speak, choosing instead to glower at Sans with a look that could kill. Alphys saw the tension, and spoke again. "And this is Undyne. S-she's the head of the Royal guard!" she stammered out

Frisk looked confused at that, and turned to look at Sans. "What does that mean?" she asked, her excitement being taken over by curiosity. Alphys went to speak, but stopped when she realized what it meant.

It meant that she was supposed to kill the human.

Sans changed the subject. He ruffled Frisk's short brown hair, and spoke to her. "U think you should go play in your room for a while Frisk." Frisk was dejected. "But daaad, I want to play with your friends!" she whined. "Yeah, but we need to talk about adult stuff for a bit". Frisk was not placated. After a moment, Sans smiled. "How about, you go play in your room while we talk, and I'll give you some milk and cookies before bed". At this Frisk visibly approved, and ran up the stairs. "YES! Thank you, I love you daddy!" came the reply. A concerned Sans yelled back, "I love you too princess, but no running on the stairs!". Frisk apologized, then vanished into her room.

Now facing up towards Frisk's room, Sans could almost hear the questions brewing behind him. All at once, they exclaimed.

"Why are you harboring a human?" yelled Undyne.

"Why does she think you're her f-father?" stumbled Alphys.

"Why didn't you say anything?" said Papyrus, voice cracking under the tears.

With that, Sans faces them. Though he sees his brother, he doesn't meet his gaze. What he sees is a broken skeleton. A face that isn't just sad. It's…

Betrayed.

"Alright, you all deserve to know the truth"


	3. A Promise Kept

A promise kept

It had just been another day in the underground. Papyrus was off with his puzzles, monsters were going about their day, and Sans had been doing what he did best.

Sleeping.

Well, half-sleeping in truth. His mind was wandering, thinking of new pranks to pull and jokes to tell. He had already spent his daily time at the door in the forest, and had made a quick stop in Hotland to sell his hot dogs and cats. He had just about dozed off when he heard a small noise from the forest. Opening an eye expecting to see his brother in some shenanigan, Sans saw nothing unusual.

After a moment, he heard it again. "Sounds like some kid." Sans thought. Probably Monster Kid or something. But it was unusual. This was a part of the forest few went into. What was that kid doing? After the noise came a third time, Sans reluctantly rose from his station and begin moving towards it. Whatever it was, it sounded distressed.

As the Sans followed the old and winding path through the forest, the noise grew louder, and Sans recognized it more clearly. It was, crying? But it was far too small for any kid in Snowdin. And as far as Sans knew, there weren't any babies in Snowdin, not that it would explain what it was doing so deep in the forest. Sans turned another corner, and began to try and understand what kind of monster makes that noise, he saw it. A human child. No, a human baby.

It was wrapped in a small blanket, but that was not nearly warm enough for this snow. "Where did it come from?" was Sans only coherent thought. He was overtaken by his emotions. Anger. Fear. Questioning.

His thoughts were interrupted by another cry from the child. Without even thinking, Sans moved to pick up the child. It wasn't unfamiliar to him: Sans had cared for a young Papyrus after their parents had died. The human was no different. And that scared Sans.

Now looking into the child's face, Sans spoke softly. "Shh. Shh. Hey, it's going to be alright." He reassured the child. The cries began to quiet, as the child stared at Sans. It was scared, but not of him. Sans had expected fear. Humans feared monsters, didn't they? But yet as this child looked into the cooing Sans' eyes, it was…

Happy

As Sans looked the child up and down, he saw a small paper item wrapped around her wrist. He brought it closer to read the writing on it. Most of it made no sense to Sans, but something stuck out.

"Name: Frisk"

He looked back at the child's face of curiosity, and thought about many things. He knew what he was supposed to do. Any human found in the underground was to go to Asgore. Sans knew that most of the humans that fell were children, some as young as 6. But as he looked into the bright eyes of this child, he knew he could never do it. Asgore would have to wait for another human.

"Don't worry…. Frisk. I'll protect you." Though the child couldn't understand the words, they were seemingly comforted, and a smile crept onto their face.

Sans turned and made his way out of this strange clearing in the woods. The implications of his choice began to sink in. What it would mean for him. For his brother. For this human. But his mind wandered to some words that never left his mind.

"Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?"

With a sigh, Sans began his new life, speaking once more to the human.

"I did promise, didn't I?"


	4. Some Opinions

Some Opinions

Sans finishes telling his story, and looked back at the three faces he's been trying so hard to avoid. Papyrus and Alphys look incredulous. Perhaps this explains what happened, but to them, it still hasn't sunk in. Undyne had been staring out the side window of the house for some time. The whole house had gone silent, when an uncharacteristically quiet Undyne spoke up.

"And you didn't bring this child to the Royal Guard for what reason?"

Sans, taken aback, barely comprehended what she's asked of him. "because they were a child, Undyne. you're telling me you would let a child of no more than a few months die?"

"SO WE COULD GO FREE!" came the loud reply of Undyne. She had fire in her eyes, and her sharp teeth reflected her anger. "We have 6 human souls. Just one more and we could"

Then, she was interrupted by Sans. "You think I don't know that!" he shouts back, with a passion to match even Undyne's. Between the unusual loudness in his voice, and the tears starting to form in his eyes, Undyne could not even form a response.

Seeing her surprised stare, Sans looked away. "I know what I was supposed to do. What you want me to have done. What I was ordered to do." The tears in his eyes had grown larger. Sans could barely speak through his emotions.

"But you weren't there. You didn't see her little eyes, shining with a life that hadn't even begun." He managed. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Sans turned back to stare Undyne down. "I couldn't. I wouldn't. Faced with that decision a thousand more times, I would have done the same every time."

Papyrus and Alphys watched as the Undyne who never gave up, was beaten back by Sans words. Without another thought, she faced the window again. Perhaps she didn't understand, perhaps she never would. But at least for then, Undyne stayed quiet.

Just then, Frisk's voice could be heard from the balcony. "Daddy? Is everything okay?" Sans, Alphys and Papyrus looked up, where Frisk was looking back down at them, concerned. Sans mentally chastised himself. How long had she been standing there? What had she heard? Putting on a smile, Sans spoke back. "Yeah sweetie, everything's fine." Although he was certain Frisk knew the truth. She weakly smiled back at him. "Can I have those milk and cookies now?" Looking at the clock, Sans realized the time. "Sure thing, princess." he replied.

After pouring the milk and retrieving the cookies, Sans carried them upstairs, not giving his friends even a glance, and led Frisk into her room. Pausing for a moment, he looked down at his brother and Alphys. "I'll just be a couple minutes." Alphys and Papyrus nodded their heads, not truly adjusted, and Sans went into Frisk's room.

After a few minutes, he returned, and made his way down the stairs. The others had said very little in the interim. What could they say? After arriving at the foot of the stair case, Sans stopped and stared them down. After a moment, he spoke, sternly. "You can't tell anyone."

Undyne looked at him, but said nothing when seeing his determined face. Alphys murmured an agreement, barely audible to anyone but herself, but the meaning was understood.

Papyrus, who had spoken barely two sentences since seeing his brother again, said nothing. He looked at Sans, the sadness in his eyes cutting right to Sans' soul. Alphys looked back and forth between the two of them, sensing the tension, begins to pull at Undyne's sleeve. "Well, I think Undyne and I will, uh, go now." She said. Neither Papyrus or Sans looked at her, too busy trying to understand each other. Undyne looked conflicted for a moment, unsure what to do, before following Alphys out the door.

After the door shuts, the house is once again silent, before Papyrus spoke up. "Why?" he said simply. Sans tore his eyes away, finding a patch of floor to stare at. "Because if anyone found out…" he started, barely able to speak. But the meaning had been understood. If anyone found out,

She would have died.

Papyrus took a step forward, and grabbed his brother by the shoulder. His grip was tighter than he knew, but Sans said nothing. "You could have told me!" Papyrus said, trying to get his brother to look him the eye. But when Sans does meet his gaze, his reply scares him.

"You would have tried to capture her too." Papyrus' grip loosened, and he looked away. There's a moment, before Sans spoke again. "I wish it didn't have to happen this way, but how else could I?" Papyrus let go completely, and stared at the ground Sans had lingered on a just a few seconds prior

They stood in silence for what felt like years, before Sans looked to the clock. "You should probably stay here tonight, it's getting late." He said. Papyrus replied meekly. "No, it's your house. I'll be fine." And before Sans was able to say or do another thing, Papyrus, turned and left.

Left standing alone, Sans thought of his brother. It was only then that Sans understood what his brother had become. No more excitement. No more enthusiasm. And though he hadn't been sure when he had first seen Papyrus, he was left wafting in the smell of smoke off that hoodie he wore. For a second, the sadness he had worn since this whole debacle began turned to regret. But Sans waved it off, and made his way upstairs to his own room.


	5. Human games

The Next Day

The next day, the girls had gone to visit Papyrus again, though the mood had changed from the day prior. It was obvious none of them had gotten any sleep at all. They had all sat on the couch in front of Papyrus' television, though none of them bothered turned it on. They all still had too many thoughts running through their heads. After some time had passed like this, Alphys spoke up.

"M…maybe, we should visit him?" There was no need to ask who Alphys was talking about. Undyne grunted. "What about the human Al?"

Alphys was confused. "What about the human?" she replied.

Undyne grew louder, but she knew better than to yell about it so close to Papyrus. "It's a human! It's dangerous!"

"I'm not sure Undyne, Frisk seemed pretty friendly…" came Alphys' quiet reply.

"I'm surprised it hasn't killed Sans already!"

At this Alphys loudly gasped. Undyne had anger in her eyes, but it quickly faded when she realized what she had said. She turned to look at Papyrus. "No, I didn't mean…"

She's interrupted. "Maybe you two should go visit him. Make sure he's not dead." Papyrus almost spits out.

Undyne shut her mouth, and her and Alphys made their way out of the house. The unmistakable sound of a lighter came from the couch as Alphys shut the door behind them. Her and Undyne stood for a moment on the porch, Alphys still shocked and Undyne still uneasy. Before Alphys could speak, Undyne spoke sternly. "Maybe I will pay Sans and that human a visit. I have a _bone_ to pick with him." With that, she stormed off, the same way they had chased Sans the day before. "W-wait!" Alphys managed, before giving chase to Undyne.

When the two arrived, Alphys had managed to convince Undyne that Alphys should do most of the talking. It was an unusual behavior for her, but she knew that Undyne might say something else she regretted. Meekly, Alphys knocked on the front door of the shack. There was a commotion of noise from behind it, and Frisk pulled the door open, curiosity on her face. When she looked at the two monsters at the door, a huge grin crossed her face. "Yay! Hi Dr. Alphys and Ms. Undyne." Alphys hid her nervousness with a giggle. "Hello Frisk." Undyne, refusing to even look at the human, didn't speak. "W-we were wondering if we could talk to Sans?" continued Alphys. "Daddy's not here, but you can play with me!" was Frisk's response.

When Undyne turned to tell the human off, she saw that Alphys was already being dragged by her sleeve into the house. She mentally cursed herself for letting Alphys do the talking for this outing, knowing, human or not, Alphys would not be confident enough to tell Frisk no. With a sigh, she went into the house.

Once the three had gone inside, Frisk began quickly explaining the rules of her game. Undyne quickly realized that this game was one she had played in her youth. New games rarely fell into the underground, and most of the time half of the pieces were missing, so monsters would make up their own games to play. But this was one that had retained almost all of the important parts. As Alphys tried to understand Frisk's rapid explanation, Undyne smirked. "Well, if I can't kill the human…" she thought "…I can kick their ass at this"

Hours passed, and Undyne and Alphys barely even noticed Sans returning to the house. Too entranced in the game, they were startled when Frisk suddenly jumped up to run up and hug Sans. Sans himself had not noticed his house guest until after embracing Frisk. Concern quickly crossed his face, but it faded seeing who his guests were. "Well, I didn't expect to see you two here now." Sans said. Alphys began to explain that they had come to see him, but was interrupted by Frisk. "We played my game! It was really fun! Ms. Undyne is suuuper good!" Given Undyne's actions the day prior, Sans was surprised to hear this. When he looked to her, Undyne avoided his gaze. She had almost forgotten her anger in the time spent with Frisk.

After some discussion of the game, Sans looked at the clock. "Would, you two like to stay for dinner?" he asks hesitantly. Alphys, having realized the time as well, looked to Undyne, who responded "No, we have to go eat with Papyrus." They had made no plans to, but Undyne said it to watch Sans, who reacted by turning away and quietly mentioning that he understood. Just what she expected. Frisk was less easy to please, and it took some convincing from Alphys to get her to stop pleading. "M-maybe we can come back t-t-tomorrow" she stammered.

Alphys talked with Frisk as they made their way to the door. Undyne stayed behind them, and stopped when she reached Sans. Quiet enough that only the two of them could hear it, and fast enough that Alphys and Frisk didn't notice her stop, she spoke. "You may have told me not to tell anyone, but I am loyal to my king. You have until my report at the end of this month." And with that, she left, leaving him alone as Frisk waved goodbye from the window. His eyes were dark. But when Frisk turned, he brought back his usual eyes, and began asking how her day had been. But in his mind, he had a single thought.

"I won't let you hurt her."

And as Alphys and Undyne began their wordless trek back to Papyrus' house, Undyne began thinking as well.

"I mean, they are just a kid, right?" She wouldn't admit it, not even in her own mind, but that human reminded her of…

Herself.

* * *

A/N: Hey there! I'd like to thank everyone who's read, reviewed and otherwise supported my nonsense! I'm not much of a writer, but I wanted to tell this story. I'm not sure how often/consistent I can update, as I work 6 days a week and am usually pretty exhausted when I get back, but I'll try. Thanks!

NotAWerewolf


	6. A Talk Between Brothers

A Talk Between Brothers

As Sans' daughter was, unbeknownst to him, being entertained by Undyne and Alphys, Sans had decided to make a trip into Snowdin. He had grown used to the anxiety of town now, having had 4 years to practice making his way around without being spotted, this visit brought on a new layer of anxiousness for Sans. He had made a promise to himself to speak to Papyrus.

And he hated making promises.

After feeding Frisk and wishing her a good day, Sans found his usual spot. Taking shortcuts was difficult: the trick was finding what shortcut led where. Take the wrong path, and Sans could find himself in the King's throne room. Or worse. But he had taken the path to his old house many times on supply runs, and knew exactly where to go. Entering through his own bathroom door, he took a step.

And onto the stone floor of his basement he landed. Shaking away the blur in his eyes, Sans looked around. It looked the same as it always had, bar the experiment he had knocked over on his last visit that had started this fiasco. After a moment, he made his way out and around to the front of the house.

Looking at his front door, he took in what had become of the house in his absence. He had thought that with Papyrus' nature to keep everything clean, that the house might look better without Sans' influence. But he grimaced as he saw the dangling lights, many dead, and with peeling paint that hadn't been redone. Without Sans, Papyrus couldn't even be bothered to clear out more snow than he needed to enter and exit, the porch left with piles of it.

Sans hesitated in knocking, but raised a smile as a thought rose to his mind.

 **Knock-knock!**

Papyrus was where he had been when the girls had left earlier, on the couch with a cigarette in his mouth. He jumped slightly at the unexpected knock at the door. At first, he thought it may have been Undyne, coaxed by Alphys to apologize to him. But then, sometimes others would come to bring gifts, and tell him they were thinking of Sans. Most had given up at this point, save Grillby, whom had made sure Papyrus was taking care of himself since the disappearance. Papyrus decided to identify the stranger at his door with as little effort as possible.

"Who's there?" he yelled back at his door.

Sans nearly giggled. He had taken the bait.

"Scold."

Papyrus stopped. After 4 years of not hearing his brother's voice, he had almost forgotten it. Almost. Pap stood, butted his cigarette, and slowly make his way to the door.

"Scold who?"

With that, he opened his door and glared down at the short skeleton.

Through a smirk, Sans replied. "Scold out here, let me in!"

Papyrus winced at the joke, but he smiled none-the-less. He had missed this. But it would take more than one joke for Papyrus to forgive him.

They stood there, on opposite sides of the threshold, for a few moments, before Papyrus let out a sigh and motioned Sans in.

The house was just as he left it four years ago. The only difference Sans saw was the lack of sock on the floor, though the trail of notes still sat in its place. Papyrus flopped onto the couch in front of the television, which still had yet to be turned on. Sans followed after him, hesitantly. Papyrus had taken up the whole thing, so he'd have no room to sit, though perhaps Pap knew that. Standing in front of the television, and breathing the remains of the still smoldering cigarette, Sans stood wordlessly. He had thought about what to say on his way over, but nothing came out of his mouth. The smile he had been wearing had faded.

Finally, Papyrus sat up and spoke. "So, what were you doing in the basement yesterday? Why come here?" His tone was that of interrogation. Sans thought. A practical question he could answer. "I was getting some gold from the supply I kept. I needed to pay for food." He went quiet, before giggling, making Papyrus look at him inquisitively. "I couldn't exactly abandon you, go silent, and still do shows at MTT resort."

Papyrus paused, before chucking himself. Sans, in turn looked strangely at him, before Pap explained. "Disappear completely and go tell jokes. That would be something you'd do." Hearing himself say it aloud, Papyrus suddenly burst into laughter. Sans was concerned, but happy to see his brother happy for once in 4 years.

After letting the laughter leave him, Papyrus' mood shifted. "You know, for a while, I thought that's why you had disappeared. For a joke."

Sans immediately responded. "I wouldn't do that. I know it's confusing bro, but I would never leave you unless there was a reason."

Anger crept into Papyrus's voice as he spat back at him. "Like finding a human."

Sans found himself angry as well. "Like finding a child in need, one who would be killed if she was found"

Papyrus' resolve broke, and he went quiet.

Sans, still standing, still watching his brother avoid looking at him, waited, before speaking again.

"You know; you might like her if you got to know her."

Papyrus said nothing for a moment. Then in a voice so quiet, Sans wasn't sure that he had spoken at all, he said

"For you to love her enough to leave me, she must be pretty great"

Sans was cut deep by the statement. But at least his brother might be willing to give her a chance. That was the last thing either of them said for some time, before Sans felt that there was nothing left to say right now, and told him that he should leave. "But you should visit." He added. Papyrus responded that, perhaps another day, he might. Sans made his way out. As he stood, half-way through the door out, Papyrus said something that reminded hurt Sans deeply, though he had already known it true.

"This doesn't mean you're forgiven."

Sans stood, cold wind blowing into his face, before speaking quietly.

"I know."

And with that, the door separated the two again.


	7. Visiting Uncle Pap

Visiting Uncle Pap

The morning had begun in the same way as many mornings had in the four years since Sans adopted Frisk. Early, and loud. Frisk was excitable at the best of times, but with the potential of friends about, the girl's energy was flying off the walls.

Sans may have grown used to it, though that didn't mean he enjoyed being awoken by a screaming child. After spending nearly half an hour trying to convince her to calm down, Frisk eventually sat for breakfast when promised pancakes: her favourite meal. Sans was barely able to make them, noting the low amount of supplies in the house. Frisk didn't even wait for the plate to hit the table, devouring the food placed in front of her. Sans chuckled, and began pouring himself breakfast. That is, if coffee with ketchup can be called food.

After eating, Frisk's thoughts were more focused. "Are your friends going to come today?!" she asked incessantly. Sans tried to gently tell her that he didn't know, but she kept asking regardless. However, after some time, Frisk had a new idea.

"Can I visit them?"

Sans opened his mouth to answer, but then thought a moment. Visiting Undyne probably wouldn't be a good idea, and no doubt she was with Alphys, but there was another "friend" they could visit. "Yeah, maybe we could." Sans said with a smile. "Go put a coat on though, it's cold out there." Once Sans had gotten her ready for the weather, they stepped out into the cold of Snowdin Forest.

Papyrus was at home, lying on the couch, watching television, when he heard the knock on his door. He sat up after a moment. "If it's Undyne," he thought, "I am not in the mood." What she had implied the other day still hurt Papyrus. "And if it's Sans, then I'll just get pulled into another stupid joke." But the knock came again, and a sighing Papyrus got up and opened the door. His faced looked confused as he took in the sight of his brother and the human on his front step. What Sans had called coats were really closer to cloaks, hoods pulled up to hide their faces. Clearly, Sans was not in the mood to be seen by anyone passing by. "Hey bro…" he started, but was interrupted by Frisk's enthusiastic cry. "Hi Uncle Pap!"

Papyrus was stunned, and only came back to reality when Sans asked if they could come in. Papyrus motioned them in, and Frisk stepped inside with an awestruck face. The house was similar enough to her own, but every little difference was an amazing sight to her. She ran about the house, looking at various objects while Sans explained how she had wanted to visit him. His initially happy mood turned sour when he mentioned that Frisk had spent very little time out of the forest. Papyrus was stunned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"It was hard enough for me to get around alone, being missing and all. And if the royal guard or someone had seen her…" Sans replied somberly. Papyrus looked over at Frisk. Monsters had been sealed underground for centuries, so Papyrus was no stranger to being stuck in one place. But he could not even imagine never having left his house. How could he have met Undyne or Alphys? How would he become a member of the Royal Guard? He began to realize just what isolation would have meant for her.

As Frisk became entranced by the TV and told the others to come look at it, she noticed the expression the two were wearing. "Is something wrong daddy? Uncle Pap?" she asked. Sans shook himself out of it and went over to explain the device, changing the subject. Papyrus wordlessly walked over, still contemplating. Once again, it took Sans talking to bring him out of his thoughts.

"Papyrus? Do you want to watch some television with us?" Papyrus finally looked to Sans and Frisk, who were looking at him intently. "Sure brother." Papyrus replied with a slight smile.

Hours passed as the three spent time together. When lunchtime arrived, Sans offered to cook, but Papyrus insisted that, as guests, he cook for them. Frisk was blown away by Papyrus' spaghetti. Sans was surprised by the quality of it, but Papyrus told him that had had some time to practice.

When it came time for Sans and Frisk to go, it was all but impossible to convince Frisk. Once she said her goodbyes, Papyrus motioned for Sans to come closer.

"Listen, Sans." Speaking so that Frisk couldn't hear. "I still don't understand your decision, but I think I see now that it's not been easy." Sans listened intently. "So I'm sorry for how I acted. You two are welcome here." A genuine smile crossed his face.

"Thanks Pap" replied Sans, and him and Frisk left Uncle Pap behind.

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 **A/N: Thanks again everyone for supporting my nonsense! Reviews are always appreciated.**

 **NotAWerewolf**


	8. My Family

My Family

With a step, Sans appeared, once again, in the basement of his old home. Papyrus' home. Bearing his cloak, Sans walked over to the safe, hidden partially by the sheet over his largest experiment. Unlocking it, he was annoyed to find it lacking. He had put much of the gold he had made from his days at the lab away for safekeeping. But without a way to earn money, it was running short. He had known it would happen, but he still hadn't found a solution for when it was dry. Never-the-less, he had enough for what he needed to get.

Shopping for Sans meant sneaking through town and stealing from new shipments. He wasn't a thief, he left gold in place of the missing goods. But he couldn't walk in and go shopping. Someone would recognize him eventually.

Sans moved through town with ease. He had 4 years of learning the paths that would take him silently to his end goal: the Snowdin Shop. He passed around buildings, not worrying about tracks that would be covered in the next snowfall. Carefully making his way around Grillby's to avoid being smelled by the canine unit of the guard, he finally rested on the back wall of the shop. Sans took a moment to breathe, but was suddenly paralyzed by a voice.

"Well, look who showed up." Came Undyne's snarl.

Swearing under his breath, Sans looked over at the head of the guard. She looked the part, wearing her full royal armour, with the exception of her helmet. She too was behind the store; in a place most wouldn't even look.

"What are you doing here?" Sans said quietly, so that passers-by wouldn't hear.

"I could ask the same of you." She replied. "I was here investigating reports of stolen goods. The buns reported missing shipments years ago, but I think I just solved the mystery."

"We needed food Undyne. And I made sure to leave more than enough gold for everything I took."

Undyne gave a smirk. "And why didn't you just go shopping like any other monster? Oh, that's right, because you're too ashamed to show your face."

Sans began to lose track of how loud he was speaking. "Look, if it wasn't for you and the rest of the guard, I wouldn't have needed to hide"

Undyne's coy smile quickly vanished. She would die for her king, so to imply that his orders were wrong was tantamount to betrayal. "I am the head of the royal guard, and I will obey my king's orders. I'd take you in for treason myself if it wouldn't hurt Papyrus." She shouted thunderously.

Sans stood, facing Undyne. She hadn't noticed, but his eyes had gone dark, and he had stopped all motion. He spoke slowly, and purposefully.

"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FAMILY"

The two monsters stood, eyes locked and with wind the only noise between them. And then, there came a footstep. Then another. Then another. Behind Sans, the two monsters turned to see Papyrus approaching slowly. "Papyrus…" Undyne tried to begin.

"You aren't going to hurt my brother." Papyrus stated plainly.

"Papyrus! You're taking his side!" Undyne was furious. "He abandoned you for years! For a human!"

"Maybe. But I can tell that it wasn't easy. I wish it had never happened. But I know now why he continues to protect her. So you won't hurt him. Because if you do, I will never forgive you, Undyne."

Undyne was flustered. Angry. Confused. She continued to look at Papyrus, trying to understand him. Then she regained her composure.

"You will regret this." Undyne stated angrily, before turning around, and walking away without so much as a second glance.

Sans, who had been completely dumbfounded by the encounter, finished watching the royal guardswoman walk away, before looking to his brother again. He found Papyrus' hand on his shoulder, and it looked like he had been ready to fight her then and there. When Papyrus noticed his gaze, he looked over at his brother. "You alright?" he said. "Yeah." Was Sans' reply. "Thanks bro." With a weak smile, Papyrus replied "That's what family does, right?" Sans smiled back.

"So, you need help with your, erm, shopping?"

"Sure bro, _aisle_ always need help with that."


	9. Family Get-Together

Family Get-Together

It had been a week since Undyne confrontation at the store, and she had calmed down very little since then. Everyday was spent either practicing combat on the increasingly annoyed training dummy, or at Alphys' lab, ranting her anger to the yellow monster. Alphys, of course, had trouble understanding the entirety of Undyne's feelings. Though the human's appearance was still a mystery to her, and though Undyne was her best friend, her insistence on bringing Frisk to Asgore was confusing.

"But, i-i-isn't she a little, young to be…"

Undyne, not angry at Alphys but loud all the same, had been trying to convince her that one death for the freedom of all monsters was justified.

"It doesn't matter! One soul! That's all we need!"

"I know that. But she wasn't even alive when the barrier was formed, s-so…"

"Neither were the other 6! But just because Sans is too afraid to do what he's supposed to, we're still stuck here."

It was at that moment that the two heard a throat being cleared from the door behind them. Or, they would, if Papyrus had had any throat to clear.

"You know Undyne, keep talking like that, and you might not have many friends left."

Alphys turned and greeted Papyrus, meekly. Undyne didn't even look.

"I won't be long. Frisk has invited the three of us to a little get-together. Sans never could figure out what her birthday was, so she's celebrating the day he found her."

He paused a moment. Then, staring directly at Undyne, a flat expression on his face, Papyrus spoke again.

"And I am well aware of how you feel and what you intend. I only ask that you try and understand my brother before condemning him completely." And without another word, out the lab he went.

The royal guardswoman reviewed Papyrus' words over and over again in her head, right up until she found herself knocking on the door of Sans' home the next day.

Undyne was hard to scare. She had been training for combat her whole life, and had witnessed one human in the underground, though she hadn't had the privilege of fighting them. So the anxiety building in her throat was a surprise as Sans opened the door. What she was afraid of even she didn't know.

"Hey Al." The skeleton said with his familiar smile. "Undyne." Emotionless.

"Uh, hello Sans." Alphys managed, before Frisk barreled though, smile as bright as the sun she couldn't have remembered seeing. "Hi friends!" the young girl exclaimed. Undyne tensed further. Once inside, the first thing she saw was Papyrus. His expression was relaxed. A small smirk was on his face. And he was looking at Undyne. She marched across the room, leaving Alphys, Sans and the human behind.

"Well, I'm here."

Papyrus chuckled. "No need to sound so unhappy." He looked around her for a moment. "At least someone's having fun."

Undyne looked over her shoulder, and saw Alphys had been pulled into a game of "Pin the tail on the Gyftrot". Frisk was giggling as she attempted to spin the blindfolded monster around, and Sans was watching, grinning as ever. From the outside, they might have looked like a family.

Undyne watched the three for a moment, thinking, before looking to Papyrus again. "How are you so calm about this? Why?"

Pap stopped smiling. "Because I lost my brother once," he started. "And I'm not going to lose him again. He cares about that little kid a whole lot."

Undyne was once again watching Alphys. She was now giggling as she attempted to guide the blindfolded human towards the picture on the wall, paper tail in hand. Undyne suppressed a smile. Papyrus continued. "Sans was right. I would have captured that human four years ago. I didn't know what that really would have meant."

Papyrus had tears in his eye sockets, though he tried his best to hide it. "Nothing can give me back those years. So I'm going to spend this time I have. With my family."

Undyne went to speak, but felt a tug on her pants, looking down, the human was shoving the blindfold up at her. With a last look at Papyrus, she took the blindfold and wandered over to Alphys and Sans.

After a few hours, it was time for the group to leave. Papyrus had offered to stay and help clean up, saving Undyne from having to. As Alphys and Undyne left, once again Undyne couldn't help but think about how similar that human was to herself at a young age. About what Papyrus had said.

What would she say to Asgore?

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 **A/N: Hey All! Sorry about the delay on this chapter, here it is! Don't worry, I still have a lot of ideas for this story.**


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